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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053177">Soft</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru'>inquisitor_tohru</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Biology, Established Relationship, F/F, First Time, Implied Sexual Content, Spectre Requisitions Rare Pair Exchange 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:20:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,233</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23053177</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Humans were so soft.</p><p>Tali's fingers drifted over Shepard's biceps. Firm, yes, but also smooth, and <i>soft.</i> Perhaps it was a little ridiculous to worry herself over hurting a woman who could charge a krogan or throw someone across a room, be it with biotics or muscle. But humans didn't even have any osteoderms to speak of.</p><p>They were just so damn <i>soft.</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>92</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Spectre Requisitions 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Soft</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/proserpine_in_phases/gifts">proserpine_in_phases</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Humans were so soft.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali's fingers drifted over Shepard's biceps. Firm, yes, but also smooth, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>soft. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Perhaps it was a little ridiculous to worry herself over hurting a woman who could charge a krogan or throw someone across a room, be it with biotics or muscle. But humans didn't even have any osteoderms to speak of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were just so damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>soft.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She'd been so looking forward to tonight that a shiver of anticipation had rushed down her spine, spreading out to the rigid plates on her back. But now that the time was drawing near, the excitement was tinged with anxiety.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You okay, Tali?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just a little nervous." Shepard touched her shoulder, or rather, she touched the smooth fabric of her envirosuit. It wasn't as tough as a krogan's or even a turian's, but Tali wondered if the scaly roughness of the skin beneath would surprise her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because of contamination, or..?" She'd linked suits with another quarian once before, and made creative use of the Deluxe Nerve-Stim Pro software with Shepard. But she'd confided in Shepard that she'd never removed her suit in front of another person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, it's not that." She smiled, and there was a certain pleasure in knowing Shepard could actually see it through her faceplate, adjusted to convey a transparent appearance. "I trust you, Shepard. Completely." She paused. "It's a bit silly really. I know you can handle yourself, but...I don't want to hurt you. Compared to mine, your skin is so soft. Delicate." Shepard laughed so hard that she snorted and, despite her very genuine concern, that made it difficult for Tali to keep a straight face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, Tali, I-" At this she was doubled over, clutching her sides as the colour of her cheeks changed to match her hair. Tali wasn't quite sure why, but it was a human trait she'd always found rather endearing. "I don't think I've ever been called </span>
  <em>
    <span>delicate </span>
  </em>
  <span>before." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said</span>
  </em>
  <span> it was silly. But I think I'm allowed to worry about my girlfriend." Even so, she could see why Shepard found it amusing. She was what could be called...</span>
  <em>
    <span>robust</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Taller than average (by human standards), with broad shoulders, a supportive waist and well-defined musculature. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm a little nervous, too, you know." Shepard put her hands on either side of her faceplate, only centimetres away from her cheeks, carefully following the lines of her facial markings with her fingertips before pressing a kiss against the physical barrier between them. "I've thought about doing this without you having to wear your helmet for so long. And I found the highest grade clean room on the Citadel, but...honestly, I'm terrified I'll make you sick."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I love that you care enough to worry." Tali pressed a finger to Shepard's lips in the best approximation of a kiss that she could presently manage. "But we'll be in a clean room, I've taken my immuno-boosters, antibiotics, herbal supplements, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> I'm all up to date with my vaccines. There may be a risk, but it's one I'm more than willing to take." Shepard raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tali, did you seriously just quote </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fleet and Flotilla</span>
  </em>
  <span> just now?" She grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Maybe." Shepard shook her head, feigning exasperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>I going to do with you?" Tali's smile grew wider, revealing more of her ice blue teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, that's a question I'd </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> an answer to."</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The clean room turned out to be far less clinical than Shepard had expected. The decor was minimalistic, but the space was clearly designed with comfort, as well as safety, in mind. She sat gingerly on the edge of the bed as she waited for Tali to come through decontamination. It was a little softer than she was used to, but there was no one she'd rather sink into a mattress with than Tali. Her head jerked up as the airlock door slid open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shepard." Tali approached the bed with her usual nimble grace, but as she came nearer, Shepard noticed the way her three-fingered hands twitched - when Tali was anxious, she fidgeted, and there was nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>to</span>
  </em>
  <span> fidget with in here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she offered her own hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All her life she'd been told by other humans that her hands were big, but the length of Tali's fingers made hers look positively dainty. She loved Tali's hands. How they glided over her omni-tool as she worked in the engine room, or skimmed her hips as they embraced in her quarters…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>..and now the way they trembled as she began to unfasten her suit, facing away from Shepard - first revealing her sloping shoulders, and mottled mauve and lavender skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shepard? I could use a hand, if you're willing." Shepard chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Need you ask?" With great care, she mimicked (as best she could) the way Tali's hands had moved when she'd begun to remove her suit. Quarian enviro-suits were sturdy things, and it wasn't the possibility of snags or tears that motivated her slow, deliberate movements. Tali was trusting her to peel away what was essentially her second skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shepard's fingers brushed over plates that glistened like amethysts down the length of Tali's back, appreciating the exaggerated curvature of the quarian spine in comparison to her own. She'd noticed before, but Tali's suit had obscured it to an extent. Her hands lingered longer when she reached Tali's broad hips, every bit as beautiful as she'd imagined. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Tali?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, Shepard?" Tali's thin lips curled into a smile as she looked over her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you think you could take your helmet off? You know, before…" She gestured towards Tali's ass, and they both started laughing. "It's just...I'd really like to be kissing you right now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Need you ask?" she said, playfully imitating Shepard. She turned to face her once again, fiddled with something on the side of her helmet, and lifted it over her head. Tali's eyes glowed like stars, and waves of blue-black hair cascaded over her marbled skin. Shepard's fingers tangled in that hair as she all but leapt forward to kiss Tali, savouring the warmth of her lips and the way she tasted like </span>
  <em>
    <span>home. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>"I feel a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>like you have me at a disadvantage here." Tali caught her breath, and Shepard almost lost hers as Tali tugged at the zip on her dress with her </span>
  <em>
    <span>teeth</span>
  </em>
  <span>, hands occupied with what was left of her own clothing. Shepard was amazed at, and a little envious of, her girlfriend's multitasking abilities.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stepped back, the backs of her knees preemptively touching the mattress, and admired Tali's figure, curved and jagged outlines alike. Although Tali didn't have pupils, they were well enough acquainted by now that Shepard could tell where she was looking. She sat down again, her face level with Tali's stomach, curved outwards towards Shepard, as if inviting the kisses she bestowed upon it. Tali giggled and batted her hand away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sorry. Ticklish." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll bear that in mind." When she hesitated just above the dark lace of Tali's underwear, she felt a hand close over hers and looked up at that gorgeous blue-toothed smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There's no rush. We have all weekend so...take your time. Well, within </span>
  <em>
    <span>reason.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry, I will," she said, giving the lace a quick tug and savouring the sigh drawn from Tali's lips when her tongue slid between her thighs. This was going to be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span> weekend.</span>
</p>
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